


Kiss me once, then kiss me twice. Then kiss me once again.

by sencire



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Clarke is good at creating a mood, Clextober20, Clextober2020, F/F, Jason is an idiot, Lexa is an actress, Modern AU, day1, the tamest I have written so far
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:15:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27009472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sencire/pseuds/sencire
Summary: Aspiring actress Lexa arrives to audition for a commercial. Easy bucks. But it’s not just the scent of pumpkin spice and vanilla that has her head spinning.(originally posted on Tumblr for Clextober 2020, day 1)
Relationships: Clarke Griffin/Lexa
Comments: 27
Kudos: 141
Collections: StorytimeF4A





	Kiss me once, then kiss me twice. Then kiss me once again.

“I swear to god, Anya, if I end up having to make out with some yucky guy, I’m going to kill you!”

The elevator doors open to reveal a wide corridor leading towards a double door, both walls lined with chairs. It doesn’t take much to see that this audition is rather popular. Lexa exits the elevator and starts to walk down the corridor, listening to her agents’ pleas.

“Come on, it sounded it really cute. One step at a time, next stop Hollywood.”

Lexa has almost reached the end of the line of chairs and several heads have turned her way, eyeing her. She slowly shakes her head and lowers her voice, turning away from the scrutinizing eyes for a moment.

“Cute? A commercial for lip balm? Lip balm, Anya, of all things?”

“Your lips are one of your most stunning assets, sweetie. Perfect for this. Just imagine how many people are going to see you!”

Lexa rolls her eyes.

“And by the way,” Anya continues, “it’s my job to get your face out there and that’s exactly what I’m doing. So stop being such a snob and do your job. Put on that sensational smile of yours and blow them away.”

“Yeah. I’ll do just that. I’ll call you afterwards.”

Lexa hangs up and drops the phone into her bag before turning back towards the other waiting girls. Most of them have lost interest in her, only a few are still looking her way. Lexa counts, stopping at 20. She winces quietly and slumps into the last of the chairs to her right, keeping two seats between her and the next girl. She’s late and annoyed because of it and also because Anya didn’t give her a lot of information about this audition. Short notice, run, she had said. So with the little she knows, the gnawing feeling of being underprepared makes her uncomfortable. She rummages through her bag to look for the small mirror that’s always in there when the double doors open partly. The right wing catches on something on the floor and squeaks loudly before blocking, startling those who weren’t looking. There’s a loud thump, followed by a series of curses. Someone shoves from the inside and with another loud squeak, the door finally swings open all the way. A guy walks out into the corridor, adjusting a greased up forelock. He straightens his shoulders and takes position in the middle of the corridor, taking a moment to look around before he speaks. A middle aged woman with heavy makeup and a clipboard appears behind him, her glasses hanging on a chain around her neck. She keeps her eyes fixed on her clipboard, chewing gum.

“Can I have your attention please,” the guy says gravely despite all the girls already looking at him. “My name is Jason and I’m the director.”

A few of the girls giggle excitedly but Lexa only groans. The girl closest to her looks at her with a barely disguised grin. She’s cute, one of the many blondes that showed up today. Before Lexa can get a better look, the blonde turns her attention back to Jason.

Lexa knows him. He’s a recently sacked TV show runner, fallen into disgrace for his questionable work ethics and terrible choices regarding plot development. Lexa read all about it. How the number of viewers of his formerly successful show had dropped in direct relation to the choices he had made. Apparently, the fans hated him. So that’s where he ended up. Lexa can’t help but smirk. Shooting commercials now.

“We’re going to need two of you. Let’s make this quick. Please stand up.”

Most of the girls jump to their feet. All but two. Lexa doesn’t and neither does the blonde next to her. Lexa puts her bag on the chair next to her and waits.

Jason starts walking down the line on the right, his assistant with the clipboard following on his heel. Occasionally, he pauses to give one of the girls a closer look but it seems he has something particular in mind. He keeps going until he is done with the first line and when he turns around, he’s face to face with Lexa. She stands up quickly and finds Jason is not as tall as she thought. Straightening up to her full height, she turns on her brightest smile.

“Hm,” he goes and tilts his head. Taking a step back, he assesses her. Lexa isn’t sure she likes how much attention he pays to her mouth. She’s keeping it pro though and doesn’t move a muscle.

“Hm,” Jason says again, looking over to the left at the blonde girl that has stood up now too.

“You,” he says, pointing at her. “And you.” He nods at Lexa. “Perfect. Nia will bring you in.”

He strides off, leaving his assistant with them. She puts on her glasses and looks at Lexa with a frown.

“We’re gonna start shooting in a minute. I’m gonna need your names,” she drawls, not bothering to stop chewing her gum. She looks ridiculous.

“Lexa Woods.” The woman writes it down on her clipboard and looks up at the blonde.

“Clarke Griffin.”

“Kay, thanks,” the assistant mumbles, taking off her glasses again, and walks away.

“Do we just …” Clarke seems confused.

“I guess.”

Lexa can hear the other girls whisper to each other as they walk past and through the doors. What do they have that I don’t? She has asked herself the same question many times when it was not her being picked at an audition. Lexa takes a deep breath as she walks through the door. Someone closes it them behind them. Jason is nowhere to be seen.

“What do we do now?” Clarke asks Lexa quietly.

“Wait?” Lexa has no idea what they’re supposed to do, especially since Nia has just left the room through a door on the left. Waiting for someone to get them seems to be their best bet. Before she can say anything else, she sees Jason walking towards them again.

“Girls!” he exclaims as he walks around and stands between them, putting a hand on each of their backs to usher them to move. “Let’s get started, shall we.”

“Wait,” Lexa feels his hand pressing against her shoulder blade but she doesn’t move. Jason looks at her with a frown, dropping his arms.

“I thought this was just an audition?”

“Oh no,” Jason laughs. “We’re shooting the actual commercial now.”

He leans closer and whispers.

“I’m totally behind schedule. No time for long auditions. You better be good.”

He laughs again. Lexa thinks about calling Anya for a moment but then drops the thought again. It’s easy money. She looks around for the second part of the pairing. But apart from the staff and Clarke, there doesn’t seem to be another actor.

“I thought you wanted us to, uh, create some tender moments around the product?”

“Exactly,” Jason beams at her. “Soft and sweet and tender and all that … it’s going to be so cute,” he gushes.

“Where’s the other actor?”

“What other actor?”

“Well, tender moments will be hard to create alone.”

“You’re not alone,” Clarke says and Jason chuckles. “I’ll be there too.”

“There’s your other actor,” Jason snickers, nodding his head at Clarke.

Oh.

Something else Anya hasn’t told her.

“You’ll look so cute together,” Jason tells them. “It’s this whole new diversity campaign. A must these days, lots of influence from there. We’re going to shoot several different scenes. You’re the two women.”

He pauses for a moment, looking from Lexa to Clarke and back. 

“Well, when you’re ready, make-up and dressing room are over there and then I’ll see you two in front of the camera.”

With that, he saunters off. Lexa presses her lips together. This is unexpected.

“Didn’t you know?”

Clarke has stepped closer and looks at Lexa with a slight frown.

“No, actually I didn’t. But it’s not a problem, we’re all professionals here.”

“I’m not,” Clarke tells her, shrugging apologetically. “Jason grabbed me off the street the other day, telling me I was just what he was looking for. I almost used my pepper spray on him, thought it was such a lame line.”

She laughs and Lexa can’t help grin back at her. She's beginning to like Clarke, she seems nice and not at all affected. Lexa hasn’t seen her before, she’s sure of that. She would remember her.

Make-up only takes a few minutes, and then they’re asked about their clothing sizes and given two identical plain white t-shirts before being told to change behind a folding screen. Lexa can’t help noticing how the tight piece of clothing compliments Clarke’s curves as she watches her take off her blouse and put on the t-shirt. She looks away quickly when Clarke catches her staring and puts on her own shirt. When they’re done, they walk over to the brightly lit corner where the stage is set up. Lexa grabs a bottle of water from a low table as they pass and unscrews it. She sips while she takes in the simple setup. It’s just two padded stools on a low stage, close together. The background is also pretty plain but held in a hue of blue and green and very pleasant on the eye. She takes another sip and nearly chokes when Jason suddenly speaks from behind her.

“Well, this is your stage!”

He opens his arms towards the set, a gesture too grand for the unimposing scenery in front of them.

“I’ll tell you what I need from you, girls. Sit down please.”

Clarke moves past her and stops two steps in, scratching her head. Lexa isn’t sure how she’s supposed to get in the mood for tender moments on chairs like this. She steps onto the stage and stands next to Clarke who seems to be struggling with the same problem.

“Wow, we’re really on show here,” the blonde whispers just loud enough for Lexa to hear.

“Don’t worry about it,” Lexa tries to reassure her. “Once you get into the scene, you usually forget about the other people.”

She gives Clarke what she hopes to be an encouraging smile.

“We’ll just give it a try and see how it goes, okay?”

Clarke nods and sits down awkwardly, squinting up at the bright lamp above their heads.

“It’ll be shot from the chest up so what you do with your legs doesn’t matter,” Jason tells them. “You’ll need to sit a lot closer together though.”

He gestures with his hands and Lexa moves her stool forward before sitting down, her knees touching Clarke’s.

“A little more,” Jason says.

Lexa grabs the edge of her seat to move it even closer. Clarke shuffles to make room. They’re sitting so close now, Lexa has to fit her knee between Clarke’s legs and she looks up to see if it causes too much discomfort. Putting a hand on her knee, Clarke nods. And Jason seems satisfied too.

“Okay, so the product is lip balm. Obviously, your lips have never been softer after putting it on. So we’ll put the focus on your lips. Maybe you could touch each other, smooch, kiss, nibble, that sort of thing. Explore. Show the world how soft your lips are, love the way they feel, like you can’t get enough of them.”

It sounds terrible the way he describes it and Lexa shudders inwardly. Clarke looks at her with wide eyes.

“He doesn’t mean we have to make out,” Lexa explains. “And we’re staying fully clothed too.”

It was meant as a joke but Clarke puffs her cheeks.

“Oh god,” she murmurs to herself, her face falling.

Her hand is still on Lexa’s knee so Lexa puts hers over it and squeezes gently.

“Imagine something so beautiful you can’t stop looking at it and you want to touch it. Then imagine that something being me.”

Clarke looks up at her in surprise. Well, that did sound a little weird.

“You _are_ beautiful,” she blurts out and blushes. It makes Lexa chuckle.

“I think you are too,” she says and Clarke clears her throat. “We’ll be okay. If at any time you feel uncomfortable, just let me know, alright?”

Clarke’s eyes search her face and her features soften. She nods quietly.

“Now take a couple of deep breaths. I’m sure it’s going to be fun.”

She watches as Clarke closes her eyes and her chest starts to heave with the deep breaths she’s taking. Lexa can tell she’s calming down.

“Okay, girls?” Jason has started to back away from them and walks off when Lexa nods. “Take a minute and let me know when you’re ready.”

“Imagine there’s only you and me,” Lexa whispers under her breath, captivated by the softness on Clarke’s face. Her eyes are still closed and she opens them now to look at Lexa who instantly falls into the ocean of blue. She gulps. From the way Clarke looks at her, she would say the girl is ready.

“I think I can do that,” Clarke says, holding her gaze, and her reply brings Lexa back to the stage.

Inhaling deeply a few times to prepare, Lexa unscrews the tub she is given and lifts it up to sniff. Frowning, she holds it out to Clarke. She likes the scent but is that-?

“Pumpkin spice,” Clarke confirms and snorts a little. “And vanilla. Very fitting for the season.”

She takes the small tub from Lexa and dips in her index finger, moving it up to her lips.

“Ah, no, wait,” she bites her lip and brings her finger up to Lexa’s lips.

“May I?”

Smiling, Lexa leans in, parting her lips enough so that Clarke can apply the balm. She hums when her finger touches Lexa’s bottom lip.

“God, your lips are so soft already. You don’t even need lip balm.”

“Girls, quiet,” Jason’s voice can be heard and Lexa rolls her eyes. He’s not helping with the mood.

But Clarke does. She slowly runs her finger along Lexa’s lip. The delicate touch tickles and Lexa squeals a little, trying to stifle the grin.

“Hold still,” Clarke scolds her softly and applies some of the balm to Lexa’s upper lip. Her eyes trained on Lexa’s mouth, she gives Lexa the opportunity to look at her again. There’s a strand of blonde hair that keeps falling into her eyes and she blows at it to get it to move. It seems like one of those gestures you do without being aware. Lexa is tempted to tuck the strand behind Clarke’s ear and when Clarke squints once again because the hair comes too close to her eye, she does. Clarke’s eyes dart up when Lexa touches her, trailing her fingertips across her cheek before letting her hand drop again. Lexa rubs her lips together to spread the balm evenly. Clarke did a good job, it feels really nice.

She watches as Clarke puts on lip balm as well, thinking she should be the one to do that but it’s too late now. She looks over to the camera to let Jason know they’re ready. That’s when she sees all these faces look at them. It’s quiet. The camera is on. Suddenly self-conscious, Lexa swallows hard. She feels Clarke’s hand on her jaw, gently guiding her head back to look at her and then Clarke just leans in all the way to touch her forehead to Lexa’s. Lexa freezes and a few seconds tick away before Clarke takes a hold of Lexa’s hand and entwines their fingers, bringing them up to her face. She lets her mouth hover close without touching.

“I’m just going to run with it,” Clarke whispers against her hand, her warm breath blowing across the back of Lexa’s hand. “But I need you to run with me.”

Lexa can feel a mild shudder trickle down her spine. She leans in, allowing her mind to let all the people that are watching them slip from it, because Clarke’s touch feels good. It’s making her a little weak and she tries to concentrate on the acting. Pressing her lips to Clarke’s hand for a moment, Lexa stares up into her eyes. She lets go and lifts her hand to let her fingertips flutter across Clarke’s mouth. Her lips are closed but Lexa can tell Clarke’s breathing is speeding up a little and it makes her oddly nervous. She’s a pro, she can touch strangers like this and feel nothing. Normally. The problem is she doesn’t want to stop anymore. She cups Clarke’s cheek and leans their foreheads together for a moment, then places a small kiss on Clarke’s nose, making her scrunch it up and grin happily. Clarke leans in a little more to kiss Lexa’s cheek, followed by Lexa kissing the beauty mark just above Clarke’s upper lip. She doesn’t give Clarke time to do anything before she brings their mouths close together, a breath away from kissing her and closes her eyes.

The softness of Clarke’s lips is heavenly. Ghosting along them, Lexa opens her eyes a little to find Clarke doing the same, looking at her for a moment before closing them again. Lexa feels Clarke’s breath on her lips as the blonde lets out soundless huff of minty air, mixed with the scent of the lip gloss they are both wearing. Lexa can’t stop the smile, faintly aware of someone in the background shouting “yes, that’s it” and “softly, girls, ever so softly” as she moves her bottom lip along Clarke’s. Her eyes fly open once more when she feels Clarke capturing her lip very gently and letting go again. Clarke seems lost in what she’s doing. Her eyes are still closed, her eyelids fluttering. Lexa drags her lips past the corner of Clarke’s mouth, moving them along the soft skin of her cheek before returning along Clarke’s lips to the other side.

She’s almost there when Clarke catches her with a quick peck, smiling because she managed to surprise Lexa. It makes Lexa laugh and she returns the peck once and when Clarke moves her head back slightly, she kisses her again. Too quick to be called a real kiss it’s more of a tease. It makes Clarke smile even wider, revealing her teeth for a moment before diving in again to pepper a series of chaste kisses across Lexa’s lips, making them burn and tingle and Lexa chases after her when she retreats again. By now, they’re both smiling.

Lexa has the hardest time keeping this professional. These kisses are making her feel things and no matter how hard she tries to imagine Clarke being some ugly guy with scratchy stubble and smelly breath, it’s not working. She always comes back to the soft blonde, her smooth lips and the scent of pumpkin spice vanilla lip balm and minty breath that invades her senses, emptying her mind of anything she has ever known about acting. The tips of their noses brush when Lexa adjusts the angle, reluctantly parting with Clarke’s lips. Even this half-second feels too long and she sighs quietly when she feels her way back into the kiss.

And then they’re kissing for real. Lexa hadn’t aimed for it but maybe Clarke did but then it really doesn’t matter because Clarke’s soft lips are on hers and Lexa’s heart skips a beat because all of a sudden, this feels very different. She hears a soft whimper and a hand comes up to cup her cheek, warm against her face, gentle fingers sneaking around to the back of her head to hold it in place and Lexa is amazed and exhales against Clarke’s lips, feeling them part and things start to become very difficult when she suddenly feels the tip of Clarke’s tongue on her lips. Just once. But it was there.

“Girls! Great, that was great. You can stop now, we’ve got it.”

Lexa hears him but chooses to ignore him. She’s too lost in the kiss that’s becoming increasingly sensual to the point of making her head dizzy with all kinds of feelings she should not be feeling right now. She becomes aware of her heart beating too fast and her stomach feeling too fuzzy, her hand ended up on Clarke’s thigh somehow, her fingertips digging in a little too much. Is she making things up? But kissing like this is not acting. It’s kissing.

“Hey! Girls!”

Clarke growls, bringing their lips together again with growing urgency. Seems Lexa isn’t the only one who’s getting lost. Lexa gives in once more, feeling Clarke smile into the kiss and their teeth clash, making Clarke snicker and there, her tongue darts out again and retreats quickly but again, Lexa has felt it.

“Stop. We’re done. Finished.”

Clarke’s lips disappear. Confused and dazed, Lexa opens her eyes. Her lips feel sore despite the soothing balm and she slowly lifts her gaze to see Clarke look at her in much the same way, her lips slightly bruised from kissing as well. If it wasn’t for the bright lights and Jason’s penetrating voice, Lexa would just lean back in and continue where they left off.

“Girls?”

Clarke looks over at Jason as if she sees him for the first time. She looks back at Lexa and her lips move as if she wants to say something but nothing comes out.

“Clarke?”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

They stare at each other. Somewhere in the other universe, in the corner of her eye, Lexa sees Jason approach. But here, in their universe, there’s no-one else.

“Do you have plans after this?” Lexa asks, feeling shy and brave at the same time.

Clarke looks at her for a moment. She’s still holding the small tub of lip balm and looks down at it now, then back up at Lexa’s lips and into her eyes. Shifting on her seat, she puts the tub into the pocket of her jeans. She smiles.

“I do. Now.”


End file.
